GRAFTING AND BUDDING 



The graft was made in the season of 1893. I 

 was exceedingly anxious to hybridize this new 

 and interesting importation with some of my 

 plums, so I watched it carefully. But much to my 

 disappointment, no blossom or signs of blossom 

 appeared during the year. So there was no 

 possibility of making such a hybridizing experi- 

 ment as I desired. 



Imagine then my astonishment when from a 

 quantity of seeds gathered from the Kelsey tree, 

 there grew next season, among other seedlings, 

 one with deep purple leaves. This strange seed- 

 ling proved to be a thoroughly well-balanced cross 

 between the original purple-leaved graft that I 

 had imported and the Kelsey upon which the graft 

 was growing. 



There was a most perfect balance in foliage, 

 fruit, and growth so far as I could judge. The 

 tree was light purple in foliage throughout the 

 season. Its fruit was small, nearly globular, and 

 purple in color even when only half grown. 



Everything about the appearance of this 

 strange seedling seemed to suggest that it was 

 a cross between the purple-leaved plum I had 

 imported and the Kelsey. There was no other 

 purple-leaved plum within thousands of miles. 

 My cion had not bloomed, and so crossing could 

 not have occurred in the ordinary way. 



[159] 



